AUGUSTA, Ga. — A Masters that began so well for Tiger Woods effectively ended late in the second
round, when his near-perfect wedge struck the flagstick at No. 15 and ricocheted into the
water.

Already the owner of four green jackets, he left the grounds late yesterday afternoon in a
steady drizzle, empty-handed.

His 2-under-par 70 left him at 283, four strokes behind Adam Scott and Angel Cabrera, who went
to a playoff won by Scott on the second hole.

After slipping into a tie for fourth, Woods put much of the blame on a familiar nemesis —
putting.

“It’s one of those things where this golf course was playing a little bit tricky,” he said. “We
had four different green speeds out there and I couldn’t believe how slow they were the first two
days. Yesterday, I couldn’t believe how fast they were. And then today, it was another different
speed again.”

His driving wasn’t all that strong, either; he finished near the bottom in fairways hit.

But perhaps the turning point occurred Friday on No. 15, which set off a long chain of events
that eventually resulted in Woods being assessed a two-shot penalty for an illegal drop. Amid the
controversy was whether Woods should have been disqualified, but the Masters assessed the penalty
and allowed him to play on.

Asked whether that blunted his momentum, Woods said, “Well, we could do a what-if on every
tournament we lose.

“We lose more tournaments than we win. But I certainly had my opportunities to post some good
rounds this week. I thought I really played well.”

Imperfect 10s on No. 12

Defending champion Bubba Watson and Kevin Na took long and winding roads to shooting 10s on the
par-3 No. 12.

Watson hit his tee shot in the water, then hit another one in the water from the drop area. His
fifth shot on the 155-yard hole went into a back bunker, but his shot from there rolled past the
pin and back into the water. He made a 12-footer for his 10, en route to a 5-over 77.

Watson finished the tournament at 7-over 295, 17 shots worse than the winning 278 he shot a year
ago.

Na, meanwhile, already was 9 over and 17 shots behind the leaders when he came to No. 12.
Pulling an 8-iron, he put his first tee shot into the pond, and then teed up another instead of
taking a drop. He put that tee shot in the pond, too. Then he teed up another and splashed that
one, as well.

The gallery roared when the fourth tee shot came down on land, albeit behind the green. A chip
and a two-putt later, he turned to the grandstand and doffed his cap.

Twitter taunt

While Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn cheered on her boyfriend Woods at the Masters, her
ex-husband was on Twitter delivering a shot at the new couple.

Woods’ two-stroke penalty came about in part because a television viewer called in to question
whether Woods had followed the rules. Thomas Vonn tweeted, “No problem Masters tournament, happy to
call in and help. You always have to keep an eye on those cheaters.”

He added a smiley face to his comment.

Notable

It’s back to homework for 14-year-old Guan Tianlang. After a 12-over total at the Masters, Guan
said he has studying to do, including math, science, history and English. As for his first Augusta
experience, he said “the whole week was great for me. I really enjoyed it and had fun.” … Players
using long putters have now won four of the past six major championships, one of each. The list:
Scott (2013 Masters), Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open), Ernie Els (2012 British Open) and Keegan
Bradley (2011 PGA Championship).